Wyoming County Schools hosts inaugural Vittles Market

Oct. 6—Nearly 700 students visited the inaugural Wyoming County Schools' Vittles Market, featuring West Virginia-grown products, at the central office Friday.

Modeled after a farmers market, the Vittles Market included vendors from across southern West Virginia, offering everything from apples to honey and popcorn to vegetables.

"Our farmers market has been a huge success and we are grateful to the vendors and community members who supported this project for our students," noted Deirdre Cline, county schools superintendent.

"Rhonda Thomas, director of Child Nutrition and Wellness, did a remarkable job of pulling together resources to plan and make this event possible. She had a vision and she brought that vision to reality. Our students had a variety of excellent learning experiences and some good food and fun," Cline emphasized.

The event was designed to promote child nutrition, school meals, the Farm-to-School program, and home-grown vendors, Thomas explained.

The state Department of Agriculture's Farm-to-School program is an effort to increase the amount of local foods served in schools and develop the next generation of farmers.

Thomas began by consulting "WV Grown," published by the state Department of Agriculture to promote businesses that produce West Virginia products.

From there, she tapped several vendors who could offer a wide variety of West Virginia-produced items.

Students in grades 1, 5 and 9 began their stroll through the various vendors by picking up a "grow bag," provided by WVU Extension, in which they could carry their "goodies," Thomas noted.

The students were each given a ticket with a vendor's name. They could then use the ticket to make purchases from the vendor.

They could also make purchases with their own money, and several students were accompanied by parents.

Additionally, the market provided learning opportunities for the student participants.

The youngest students were selected to introduce them to a farmer's market, Thomas explained.

Fifth-graders are old enough to become interested in growing their own food, and the high school freshmen had the opportunity to explore career possibilities.

Participating vendors included Tarbilly's Grilling Sauce and Rub, based in Wyoming County, along with Crook Brothers, Red Sky Acres, Greenbrier Dairy, Mom's Kitchen, Chico's Bakery, WV Harvest, Mountain Steer, Jumpin' Johnny's Popcorn, Bailey Bees, Edible Arrangements, among others.

"The first annual Wyoming County Vittles Market was filled with learning and laughter," Thomas noted. "We are pleased that our students had a great time tasting products locally grown and produced.

"Vendors from throughout the state of West Virginia provided our students with information on their products and how they are produced and prepared," she said.

Thomas also provided surveys to parents and vendors in an effort to improve next year's event.